The top four firms on the NMHC Top 50 Owners list, which ranks the number of units owned as of Jan. 1, remain the same from 2019. MAA stays in the top position with 100,031 units, followed by Equity Residential with 80,624 units, AvalonBay Communities with 79,886 units, and Starwood Capital Group with 75,409 units.
Morgan Properties, based in King of Prussia, Pa., rocked the multifamily world in October 2019 by acquiring 80 apartment communities across eight states in one transaction. The deal of the year moves them from No. 19 on the list to No. 5. It also jumps from No. 28 on the NMHC managers list to No. 12.
Mitchell Morgan founded Morgan Properties in 1985 with the purchase of a 1,395-unit portfolio from a local developer. The firm hasn’t slowed down since as value-add has become a strength for the company. MFE posed a few questions to president Jonathan Morgan and principal Jason Morgan about its success and what’s ahead.
MFE: To what do you attribute your company’s success and its rise in the ranks of the NMHC list?
Jonathan Morgan: Morgan Properties is extremely well positioned for acquisition opportunities and poised for future growth. We pride ourselves on our quick decision making, extensive local market knowledge, strong balance sheet, and excellent capital relationships.
Since 2013, Morgan Properties has acquired over $7 billion of total acquisition volume, comprised of over 50,000 apartment units, solidifying our organization as a top multifamily owner in the country. Morgan Properties has a proven track record as a value-add multifamily investor and is currently the largest multifamily owner in the states of Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland.
MFE: The COVID-19 virus has added an unforeseen roadblock to everybody’s business this year. How does Morgan plan on getting through the challenge?
Jason Morgan: Morgan Properties leverages off its seasoned executive team who is battle tested—having endured prior recessions—and is well prepared to withstand the COVID-19 crisis. We continue to provide for our residents at this time of uncertainty, and we remain committed to ensuring their health and safety is our top priority.
We feel that we have the best and brightest in the industry. Our team is always rising to the occasion, regularly communicating and quickly responding to this rapidly evolving situation.
The only fixed concepts in our business are our ethics and the culture that defines us. We have remained quick and nimble to adjust our corporate policies and procedures as we see fit. We remain fully confident that we will weather the storm and emerge even stronger as an organization going forward.
MFE: How will the value-add end of the business be affected?
Jason Morgan: We expect the value-add projects are likely to slow in the short-term as multifamily owners remain focused on collections, but multifamily owners who are well capitalized are poised to sustain their operations and pursue value-add repositioning opportunities over time. We feel that the market dislocation will soon present an attractive buying opportunity for those value-add multifamily investors who are able to weather a modest slowdown.
MFE: What makes you optimistic about the future?
Jonathan Morgan: The multifamily fundamentals remain strong, and the future of our industry is bright. Our business is essential and will always have intrinsic value in providing workforce housing for our residents. We are extremely bullish on the long-term trajectory of the multifamily industry, and we look forward to continued success.
| RANK + COMPANY | HEADQUARTERS | CORPORATE OFFICER | UNITS OWNED 2020/2019 | RANK 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. MAA | Germantown, TN | H. Eric Bolton, Jr. | 100,031/100,864 | 1 |
| 2. Equity Residential | Chicago, IL | Mark J. Parrell | 80,624/79,260 | 2 |
| 3. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. | Arlington, VA | Timothy J. Naughton | 79,886/78,549 | 3 |
| 4. Starwood Capital Group | Miami, FL | Barry S. Sternlicht | 75,409/76,932 | 4 |
| 5. Morgan Properties | King of Prussia, PA | Mitchell L. Morgan | 70,052/50,664 | 19 |
| 6. Related Companies | New York, NY | Jeff Blau | 69,369/69,300 | 5 |
| 7. Edward Rose Building Enterprise | Bloomfield Hills, MI | Warren Rose | 65,600/64,662 | 6 |
| 8. Greystar Real Estate Partners | Charleston, SC | Robert A. Faith | 63,306/62,045 | 7 |
| 9. The Irvine Company | Newport Beach, CA | Jim Krohn | 62,254/60,592 | 8 |
| 10. Essex Property Trust, Inc. | San Mateo, CA | Michael J. Schall | 60,040/60,200 | 10 |
| 11. Hunt Companies, Inc. | El Paso, TX | Chris Hunt, CEO | 58,340/60,217 | 9 |
| 12. Cortland | Atlanta, GA | Steven DeFrancis | 58,033/50,955 | 18 |
| 13. Monarch Investment & Management Group | Franktown, CO | Bob Nicolls | 56,633/49,788 | 20 |
| 14. Weidner Apartment Homes | Kirkland, WA | Jack O'Connor | 56,262/52,624 | 15 |
| 15. Camden Property Trust | Houston, TX | Richard J. Campo | 56,107/55,160 | 14 |
| 16. BH Equities, LLC | Des Moines, IA | Harry Bookey | 55,950/58,411 | 11 |
| 17. PGIM Real Estate | Madison, NJ | Susan Mello | 55,152/56,404 | 13 |
| 18. Lincoln Property Company | Dallas, TX | Tim Byrne | 54,200/58,375 | 12 |
| 19. The Michaels Organization | Camden, NJ | John J. O'Donnell, CEO | 52,119/49,521 | 21 |
| 20. UDR, Inc. | Highlands Ranch, CO | Tom Toomey | 51,294/48,860 | 22 |
| 21. JPMorgan Asset Management | New York, NY | Brett Kahn | 50,037/51,241 | 17 |
| 22. Nuveen Real Estate (formerly TH Real Estate) | New York, NY | James Martha | 49,401/38,410 | 23 |
| 23. Balfour Beatty Communities | Malvern, PA | Christopher Williams | 48,862/51,333 | 16 |
| 24. FPA Multifamily | San Francisco, CA | Gregory A. Fowler | 37,355/28,750 | 32 |
| 25. UBS Realty Investors LLC | Hartford, CT | Matthew Lynch | 37,334/38,351 | 24 |
| 26. GID | Boston, MA | Bob DeWitt | 36,557/28,514 | 33 |
| 27. Dominium | Plymouth, MN | Paul Sween | 35,207/32,215 | 28 |
| 28. Invesco Real Estate | Dallas, TX | Michael Kirby | 35,139/35,416 | 26 |
| 29. American Campus Communities | Austin, TX | Bill Bayless | 33,925/33,542 | 27 |
| 30. Aimco (Apartment Investment Management Company) | Denver, CO | Terry Considine | 32,598/36,292 | 25 |
| 31. American Landmark Apartments | Tampa, FL | Joe Lubeck | 32,000/23,000 | 44 |
| 32. Harbor Group International, LLC | Norfolk, VA | Jordan Slone | 31,609/30,656 | 30 |
| 33. Heitman | Chicago, IL | Maury Tognarelli | 30,866/27,955 | 34 |
| 34. Bridge Investment Group | Salt Lake City, UT | Danuel Stanger | 30,626/26,324 | 37 |
| 35. Westdale Real Estate Investment & Management | Dallas, TX | Joseph G. Beard | 30,427/29,366 | 31 |
| 36. Steadfast Companies | Irvine, CA | Ella S. Neyland | 28,488/30,953 | 29 |
| 37. TruAmerica Multifamily, LLC | Los Angeles, CA | Robert E. Hart | 26,779/24,543 | 42 |
| 38. JRK Property Holdings | Los Angeles, CA | Bobby Lee | 26,697/26,328 | 36 |
| 39. AEW Capital Management, L.P. | Boston, MA | Jeffrey Furber | 26,160/25,766 | 38 |
| 40. Eaton Vance Management | Boston, MA | Andrew Frenette | 25,765/23,680 | 45 |
| 41. Knighvest Capital | Dallas, TX | David Moore | 25,477/22,654 | 47 |
| 42. Southern Management Corporation | Vienna, VA | Suzanne D. Hillman | 25,327/25,327 | 39 |
| 43. Carroll Organization | Atlanta, GA | M. Patrick Carroll | 25,300/27,553 | 35 |
| 44. Security Properties | Seattle, WA | Bob Krokower | 25,120/22,309 | new |
| 45. Sentinel Real Estate Corporation | New York, NY | John H. Streicker | 25,100/25,000 | 41 |
| 46. Northland Investment Corporation | Newton, MA | Lawrence Gottesdiener | 24,775/25,037 | 40 |
| 47. AMLI Residential | Chicago, IL | Greg Mutz | 23,949/22,067 | 43 |
| 48. Peak Capital Partners | Provo, UT | Jeff Danley | 23,324/18,726 | new |
| 49. Mercy Housing, Inc. | Denver, CO | Jane Graf | 23,182/23,060 | new |
| 50. The NRP Group | Cleveland, OH | J. David Heller | 22,884/20,747 | 49 |
